Tandem toggle hopper door operating mechanisms

ABSTRACT

Mechanism for operating a full width drop bottom door of a sillless hopper car for quick dumping of bulk lading by swinging the door in opening beyond the vertical to a positively stopped open position. The mechanism has as a drive linkage a toggle connected between the door and the car body and a lever fulcrummed on the body and so linked to an adjoining arm of the toggle as to swing through a lesser arc than the door. In closed position the toggle and the lever and its link are both substantially fully extended and over-center for providing a double tandem lock against opening of the door and a locking device connected to an automatically releasing capstan on the operating shaft of the lever enables the operating mechanism to be locked in either open or closed position.

United States Patent Floehr 1151 3,654,873 1451 Apr. 11,1972

TANDEM TOGGLE HOPPER DOOR OPERATING MECHANISMS Walter L. Floehr, Toledo, Ohio Midland-Ross Corporation, Ohio Apr. 20, 1970 Inventor:

Assignee: Cleveland,

U.S. Cl ..105/248, 49/109, 105/249, 105/290, 105/296, 105/299, 105/304, 105/310 Int. Cl. ..B6ld 7/18, B61d 7/26, E05f11/28 Field of Search ..49/109; 105/248, 290, 304, 105/313, 249, 296,299, 310

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Batho ..105/313 x Dorey 105/ 248 4/1969 Floehr ..49/109 Primary Examiner-Arthur 1.. La Point Assistant Examiner-Howard Beltran Attorney-Wilmer Mechlin [5 7] ABSTRACT Mechanism for operating a full width drop bottom door of a sill-less hopper car for quick dumping of bulk lading by swinging the door in opening beyond the vertical to a positively stopped open position. The mechanism has as a drive linkage a toggle connected between the door and the car body and a lever fulcrummed on the body and so linked to an adjoining arm of the toggle as to swing through a lesser arc than the door. In closed position the toggle and the lever and its link are both substantially fully extended and over-center for providing a double tandem lock against opening of the door and a locking device connected to an automatically releasing capstan on the operating shaft of the lever enables'the operating mechanism to be locked in either open or closed position.

8 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures l7 l5 a 39D 30 30 [:39 L of 34 PATENTEDAFR 1 1 I972 SHEET 1 OF 3 Inventor:

Walter L. Floehr his Attarney PATENTEDAFR 11 I972 SHEET 2 BF 3 PATENTEUAPR 11 I972 SHEET 3 [IF 3 Inventor:

Walter L Floehr y LU Mg MIA/ his Attorney TANDEM TOGGLE HOPPER DOOR OPERATING MECHANISMS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION .Both my U.S. Pat. No. 3,440,76 l issued Apr. 29, 1969, and my copending application Ser. No. 758,927, filed Sept. 11, 1968, now U.S.Pat. No. 3,608,500, issued Sept. 28, 1971 disclose operatingmechanisms for hopper car doors, which, in the closed position of their drive linkages, provide a double tandem lock against opening of the doors and protect the linkages against 'damage in transit by substantially containing them ,within the center sill of the hopper cars to which they are applied. Both of those mechanisms permit quick opening of v the doors for rapid discharge of lading and that of the copend- SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The primary object of the present invention is to provide an improved hopper door operating mechanism which not only provides a double tandem lock in the closed position of its drive linkage against opening of the door, but also enables the door in an opening operation to be opened beyond a vertical position to an open position out of the way of discharging lading and locked in that position for minimizing the time required for dumping the lading.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved hopper door operating mechanism which, in enabling a door to be swung in opening beyond a vertical position, requires the operating capstan to be swung through a lesser arc than the door and obtains a gravity assist from the door and the lading for minimizing the effort required for opening and without risk of injury to the operator.

An additional object of the invention is to provide an improved hopper door operating mechanism which is lockable in both open and closed positions, is particularly adapted for application to a full width door of a sill-less hopper car and in that application has its drive linkage contained at all times within the vertical and lateral limits of the car body.

Other objects and features of the invention will appear hereinafter in the detailed description, be particularly pointed out in the appended claims and be illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE DESCRIPTION FIG. 1 is a fragmentary side elevational view of a body of a sill-less railway hopper car showing a pair of the preferred embodiments of the improved operating mechanism of the present invention applied for operating a pair of oppositely opening full width doors;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken lines 2 -2 ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary side elevational view on an enlarged scale of one of the mechanisms of FIG. 1, with the door closed and shown in section and part of the lower mounting tube removed;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3, but with the door in open position and the handle of the capstan broken away to show certain details of its construction;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view taken along lines 5-5 of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view taken along lines 66 of FIG. 3.

along 2 DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring now in detail to the drawings in which like reference characters designate like parts, the improved railway hopper door operating mechanism of the present invention, while adapted to operate hopper doors of other types, is particularly designed for individually operating, full width hopper doors of sill-less railway hopper cars, such as the ACF CENTER FLOW car, and has been so illustrated as exemplary of the invention.

Although only so much has been shown as is necessary for an understanding of the invention, the partly illustrated ACF CENTER FLOW" car, as a whole, has a body 2 of unique pear-shaped cross-section supported at the sides between a pair of hollow bulbous side frame members 3 running the length of the car. Adapted to transport dry bulk commodities or lading, the body 2 is top loading and bottom discharging and, in the conventional 50-foot length and fitted for discharging through drop bottom hopper doors 4, may have six lon gitudinally opening or swinging full width doors arranged with one door adjacent and opening toward each end and the other four toward the center of the car as longitudinally spaced pairs of oppositely opening doors. No matter what their number, each of the doors 4 on a given car 1 usually will be operated in the same manner and, as representative, only the doors of one of the oppositely swinging pairs has been illustrated.

Each of the illustrated doors 4 is hinged at the top for swinging longitudinally of the car 1 about a horizontal axis to a frame 5 bounding a bottom discharge opening 6 of an associated hopper 7. On opening the doors swing toward each other or inwardly into the laterally triangular space 8 between the side frame members 3 that is bounded longitudinally by the outwardly converging bottom sheets 9 of the hoppers. In closed position each door seats against its frame 5 for closing the discharge opening 6 therein and in that position is, as usual, obliquely disposed and at one side of a vertical plane through its hinging axis, so as to swing down by gravity toward that plane when opened. Both the doors 4 and their frames 5 extend substantially the full width of the car body 2 between the side frame members 3 and each door is opened and closed by the improved operating mechanism 12 of the present invention.

Oppositely acting, but otherwise identical, the illustrated operating mechanisms 10 are each comprised of a drive linkage acting between the car body 2 and the related door 4. Positioned or disposed in the space 8 between the doors 4 and extending and acting longitudinally of the car 1, each drive linkage 11 is comprised in turn of a toggle 12 having pivotally connected arms 13 and 14, pivotally connected at their outer ends respectively to the related or adjoining door and the car body, and an actuating lever 15 fulcrummed on the car body and pivotally connected at its distal end to one end of a link 16, whose opposite end is pivotally connectedto the togles adjoining or car body arm 14 intermediate the latters ends. All of these pivoted connections are for relative vertical pivoting or swinging of the connected parts, so that each drive linkage 17 as a whole, and its jointed constituents, the toggle l2 and the second jointed member 17 formed by the lever 15 and link 16, are vertically foldable.

Preferably longitudinally aligned and centered laterally on the car body 2, the drive linkages 11 in the illustrated embodiment have the door arms 13 of their toggles 12 connected to their respective doors 4 through suitably Z-shaped stifiener bars 18 fixed to and extending horizontally across the faces 19 of the doors. For both spreading the applied forces over the doors and minimizing canting within the drive linkages, the door arm 13 of each desirably is of Y-shape and presents to the related door a cross-braced forked portion 20, whose intumed, longitudinally extending outer ends 21 are laterally spaced on opposite sides of and equidistant from the centerline of the car body and connected for vertical pivoting to the door, as through correspondingly spaced hinge butts 22 fixed to the reinforcing bar 18 thereon. The opposite or stem portion of each door arm 15, as shown, may be socketed to receive the adjoining end of the body arm 14 and the latter may be bifurcated or slotted inwardly of or beyond the door arm, for receiving and being pivotally connected intermediate its ends to the adjoining end of the link 16. Also suitably bifurcated to receive its end of the related link 16, each of the illustrated levers l5 fits at its inner end in a preferably split mounting bracket 23 fixed to the car body 2 and is itself fixed or keyed against relative rotation at that end to an operating shaft 24 joumalled at the center in the mounting bracket and extending horizontally across the car body. A second split mounting bracket 25 fixed to the car body 2 below the bracket 23, pivotally mounts the adjoining inner end of the car body 14.

In the closed position of the related door, the pair of jointed members 12 and 17 of which each'drive linkage 11 is comprised, are each fully extended and slightly over-center and prevented from downward breaking by one of a pair of stop or limiting lugs 26 fixed to or rigid or integral with one of each members parts or components, here, the door arm 14 and lever 15, and then overlying and engaging the upper side of the other part. Also, in their closed positions, the toggle 12 is substantially horizontally disposed, while the jointed member 17 formed by the lever 15 and link 16 is obliquely disposed and inclined or sloped upwardly from the body arm 14 to the mounting bracket 23.

With their stop lugs 26 and over-center dispositions, the two jointed members 12 and 17 of each drive linkage 11, in the .closed position thereof, form a double lock or a pair of locks,

more or less in tandem, against opening of the related door 4 by any force initiated at the door and thus ensure that the door will stay closed in the absence of upward swinging of the lever by a turning force applied in an opening direction to the operating shaft 24 on which the lever is fulcrummed. In a subsequent opening operation, both jointed members of each linkage will break or fold upwardly and the opening force applied to the operating shaft need only be sufficient to dislodge the members from their over-center closed positions, whereupon the force of gravity of the door itself and the lading in the associated hopper 7 will take over and swing the door open. If, as intended, opening of each door 4, once the drive linkage is unlocked, is opposed only by the frictional resistance engendered at the several pivots and about the operating shaft, the kinetic energy or momentum of the door, from its own weight and that of the lading, will cause the door to swing beyond the vertical position in which it would normally hang and through a vertical plane passing through its hinging axis to an oblique position on the opposite side of that plane in which it is out of the way of any lading discharging through the bottom opening 6 of the related hopper 7.

In accordance with the present invention, the door is positively stopped in its opening or outward swing in a predetermined, out-of-the-way, door itself or, as illustrated, the reinforcing bar 18 on its face 19 with a fixed abutment, shoulder, or door stop 27, conveniently formed on the confronting or outer end of the toggle mounting bracket 25. Not only is the door positively stopped but, in the manner hereafter described, also is positively holdable or lockable in the predetermined open position during discharge of the lading. When the door is thereafter closed, but little effort is required in the closing operation, as gravity will assist the closing by acting initially on the door and also on the initially upwardly folded linkage. With both opening and closing operations gravity assisted and the maximum force required only the force needed to upset the over-center condition of the toggle 14 at the outset of an opening operation, the force applied to the car body arm 14 of the toggle 12 by the lever 15 need only have a short moment arm, with the result that the are or range of movement of the lever can be substantially less than that of the door. Thus, in the illustrated embodiment the total swing or throw of the lever to produce an 80 swing of the door is only 66.

open position by engagement of the In the illustrated application of the improved operating mechanism 10, in which apair of the mechanisms are applied for operating a pair of longitudinally adjoining or confronting, oppositely opening doors 4, the fixed body mounting brackets 25 for the toggles 12 are at opposite ends of a horizontally disposed, longitudinally extending column or beam member 28, which is centered laterally on and extends longitudinally of the car body 2, longitudinally aligned with the toggles in the closed position thereof. The column member 28 is suspended or hung by a pair of longitudinally spaced upright posts 29 from a correspondingly spaced pair of crossor transverse beams 30 extending across the car body 2 and welded or otherwise fixed to the undersides and also by knee braces 31 to the insides of the side frame members 3. The column 28, posts 29 and cross-beams 30 all preferably are rectangularsection tubes combining adequate strength with lightness in weight. The cross-beams 30 are mounted in longitudinally opposite sides of the space 8 and each and the post 29 depending therefrom provide a convenient mounting for the adjoining lever mounting bracket 23. So mounted and upwardly folding, the drive linkages 13 and their mountings are at all times contained within the longitudinal and lateral confines or limits of the car body 2 and thus do not encroach upon A.A.R. equipment limit lines. Of at least equal importance, the longitudinal alignment or rectilinear relationship of the column 28 with both toggles 12 in the closed positions of the latter, enables the column then to act as a force-transmitting member between the toggles through which an opening force initiated at either door is enabled to react against the opposing opening force at the other door and thus relieve the car body of any longitudinal resultant of such opening forces so long as the forces are substantially equal, as will usually be the case.

As the double lock provided by each drive linkage 11 in closed position against opening of the related door 4, while effective against forces initiated at the door, can be released or upset with little effort by turning the related lever 15 in an opening direction, it is necessary that the lever be lockable against turning and in theimprovedmechanism the lever is also lockable to hold the door in its beyond-vertical open position during discharge of lading. Except for its ability to lock the lever 15 and therethrough the door 4 in open position, the preferred means for locking the lever against turning and also that for turning the lever are substantially the same as those disclosed in my copending application Ser. No. 758,927. Thus, for both operating and locking the mechanism 10 from either side of a car, there is in addition to the operating shaft 24, a lock shaft 32 extending across the car body 2 parallel to and radially spaced from the operating shaft and, like the latter, journalled at the center in the lever mounting bracket 23. A pair of hangers 33 fixed to and depending from the side frame members 3 at opposite sides of the car body 2, support and journal both shafts adjacent their ends.

Instead of the usual plural-socketed capstans, the operating shaft 24 has on its ends beyond the hangers 23 capstans or operating heads 34 of the type shown in the above copending application, with a radial arm 35 on each interrupted by a cross-slot 36 bounded at inner and outer ends respectively by a septum 37 and a cross-bar 38. So constructed, either capstan 34 is adapted for manual operation or turning by inserting a pry bar or other suitable turning tool (not shown) into its arm cross-slot 36 from the side opposite that in which the capstan is to be turned and applying leverage against the far side of the septem 37 and near side of the cross-bar 38. So engaging the capstan to apply a turning force, the turning tool will be automatically released without danger to the operator at any point at which the capstan moves ahead of it. On the other hand, the turning tool can be reactivated at any point simply by swinging it'into engagement with both the septum and the cross-bar. In an opening operation this capstan and turning tool arrangement enables an operator to initiate'swinging of the lever 15 in an opening direction, permits him to hold onto the handle without danger while the door 4, under its own momentum, swings itself and the related lever and capstans to the predetermined open position at which it is stopped by engagement with the stop shoulder 27, and, by re-engaging the tuming tool at that point, hold the door in open position.

For locking the lever in either closed or open position, the lock shaft 32 has at each end beyond the adjoining hanger 33 a counterweighted lock or locking head 39 socketed to receive a suitable turning tool (not shown) and having on its counterweighted end a cylindrically convex locking surface 40 concentric with the lock shaft. in turn, each capstan 34 has fixed to or integral with and outstanding radially from its hub 41 an annular base plate 42 having in its periphery a pair of circumferentially spaced, cylindrically concave seats 43 alternately engageable with the locking surface 40 on the adjoining lock 39 and, when so engaged, concentric and of the same radius as or co-radial with the locking surface. With one of the seats 43 engageable with the locking surface 40 in the capstans closed position and the other in the capstans open position and a shoulder or finger 44 on the lock and projecting or extending above and beyond the locking surface for engagement against further downward swinging of the lock with a peripheral tongue 45 on the base plate 42 between the seats, the capstan can be held temporarily by an operator in either closed or open position until the lock is applied and then will be positively held by the lock in that position without further assistance from the operator. Although not needed when the capstan is open, the base plate and lock are apertured for receiving the customary wire seal (not shown) against unauthorized operation when the capstan is locked in closed position.

Summarizing the operation mechanism 10, each of the doors 4 will be closed both during loading of the car 1 and while the car is in transit and then will be locked against unauthorized or accidental opening by both the double lock provided by the related drive linkage l1 and the locking of the related lever 15 against turning by engagement of each lock 39 with the appropriate seat 43 on the adjoining capstan 34. On reaching destination, the wire seal will be broken and the locks 39 swung to release position by a suitable turning tool applied to the lock at one side of the car. Thereafter the double tandem lock provided by the drive linkage will be released by applying a turning tool to the capstan 34 at that side and, when the door has been swung to its predetermined open position, the lock usually will be engaged with the other seat on the capstan for positively holding or locking the door in its beyond-center opening position. Remaining so open during discharge, the door will be closed thereafter by first releasing the lock 39 and then swinging the lever 15 through one of the capstans 34 in a closing direction. When the door reaches closed position, the operator can temporarily hold it in that position through the capstan, while he re-engages the lock with the then presented seat on the capstan.

From the above detailed description it will be apparent that there has been provided an improved hopper door operating mechanism which in its drive linkage provides a double tandem lock against opening of the related door and, through a capstan on the operating shaft of the lever and a separately mounted adjoining lock, is enabled to lock the lever and therethrough the door in either closed or open position. It should be understood that the described and disclosed embodiment is merely exemplary of the invention and that all modifications are intended to be included that do not depart from the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

Having now described my invention I claim:

1. A mechanism for operating a vertically swingable hinged hopper door of a railway hopper car, comprising a drive linkage connected between the door and a body of the car, said linkage including a vertically folding toggle having door and of the preferred operation car body arms connected at outer ends respectively to the door and the car body, said toggle in folded position being substantially vertically disposed with both arms projecting upwardly above the connection thereof to the car bodtyl, a lever fulcrummed on the car body above the connection ereto of the toggle, and a link connecting the lever to the body arm of the toggle, said toggle and said link and lever being fully extended and overcenter in closed position for providing a double tandem lock against opening of the door by forces initiated thereat, and means for locking the lever and therethrough the door in both closed and open positions.

2. An operating mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the link is connected to the body arm of the toggle toward the end thereof connected to the car body and the lever has a shorter swing between closed and open positions than the door.

3. An operating mechanism according to claim 1, wherein in an opening operation the door is swingable beyond a natural vertical position to an open position out of the way of discharging lading, and including means independent of the toggle for positively stopping the door in said open position.

4. An operating mechanism according to claim 3, including an operating shaft extending across the car body, and a capstan mounted on an end of the shaft, and wherein the locking means includes a counterweighted lock and spaced seats on the capstan alternately engageable thereby for locking the lever in closed and open positions.

5. An operating mechanism according to claim 4, including a capstan at each end of the operating shaft, and wherein the lock is one of a pair of duplicate locks mounted at opposite ends of a lock shaft extending across the car body parallel to and radially spaced from the operating shaft.

6. A mechanism for operating a vertically swingable hinged hopper door of a railway hopper car having a sill-less car body and side frame members on opposite sides thereof, comprising a drive linkage connected between the door and car body and throughout the range of movement thereof contained within the limits of the car body, and means for supporting said drive linkage on said side frame members, said linkage including a vertically folding toggle having door and car body arms connected at outer ends respectively to the door and the car body, said toggle in folded position being substantially vertically disposed with both arms projecting upwardly above the connection thereof to the car body, a lever fulcrummed on the car body above the connection thereto of the toggle, and a link connecting the lever to the body am of the toggle, said toggle and said link and lever being fully extended and overcenter in closed position for providing a double tandem lock against opening of the door by forces initiated thereat, and means for locking the lever and therethrough the door in both closed and open positions.

7. An operating mechanism according to claim 6, wherein the mechanism is one of a pair of duplicate oppositely acting mechanisms for operating a pair of longitudinally adjoining oppositely opening doors, and the toggles of the mechanisms are horizontally disposed in closed position, and wherein the mounting means includes horizontally disposed column means extending longitudinally of the car body and suspended below and between the side frame members, and the toggle members are connected at their body ends to opposite ends of the column member and longitudinally aligned therewith in closed position for enabling longitudinal components of forces initiated at the doors to oppose and substantially counterbalance each other.

8. An operating mechanism according to claim 7, wherein the mounting means includes means suspending the column member from the side frame members and mounting the levers of the pair of mechanisms. 

1. A mechanism for operating a vertically swingable hinged hopper door of a railway hopper car, comprising a drive linkage connected between the door and a body of the car, said linkage including a vertically folding toggle having door and car body arms connected at outer ends respectively to the door and the car body, said toggle in folded position being substantially vertically disposed with both arms projecting upwardly above the connection thereof to the car body, a lever fulcrummed on the car body above the connection thereto of the toggle, and a link connecting the lever to the body arm of the toggle, said toggle and said link and lever being fully extended and overcenter in closed position for providing a double tandem lock against opening of the door by forces initiated thereat, and means for locking the lever and therethrough the door in both closed and open positions.
 2. An operating mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the link is connected to the body arm of the toggle toward the end thereof connected to the car body and the lever has a shorter swing between closed and open positions than the door.
 3. An operating mechanism according to claim 1, wherein in an opening operation the door is swingable beyond a natural vertical position to an open position out of the way of discharging lading, and including means independent of the toggle for positively stopping the door in said open position.
 4. An operating mechanism according to claim 3, including an operating shaft extending across the car body, and a capstan mounted on an end of the shaft, and wherein the locking means includes a counterweighted lock and spaced seats on the capstan alternately engageable thereby for locking the lever in closed and open positions.
 5. An operating mechanism according to claim 4, including a capstan at each end of the operating shaft, and wherein the lock is one of a pair of duplicate locks mounted at opposite ends of a lock shaft extending across the car body parallel to and radially spaced from the operating shaft.
 6. A mechanism for operating a vertically swingable hinged hopper door of a railway hopper car having a sill-less car body and side frame members on opposite sides thereof, comprising a drive linkage connected between the door and car body and throughout the range of movement thereof contained within the limits of the car body, and means for supporting said drive linkage on said side frame members, said linkage including a vertically folding toggle having door and car body arms connected at outer ends respectively to the door and the car body, said toggle in folded position being substantially vertically disposed with both arms projecting upwardly above the connection thereof to the car body, a lever fulcrummed on the car body above the connection thereto of the toggle, and a link connecting the lever to the body arm of the toggle, said toggle and said link and lever being fully extended and overcenter in closed position for providing a double tandem lock against opening of the door by forces initiated thereat, and means for locking the lever and therethrough the door in both closed and open positions.
 7. An operating mechanism according to claim 6, wherein the mechanism is one of a pair of duplicate oppositely acting mechanisms for operating a pair of longitudinally adjoining oppositely opening doors, and the toggles of the mechanisms are horizontally disposed in closed position, and wherein the mounting means includes horizontally disposed column means extending longitudinally of the car body and suspended below and between the side frame members, and the toggle members are connected at their body ends to opposite ends of the column member and longitudinally aligned therewith in closed position for enabling longitudinal components of forces initiated at the doors to oppose and substantially counterbalance each other.
 8. An operating mechanism according to claim 7, wherein the mounting means includes means suspending the column member from the side frame members and mounting the levers of the pair of mechanisms. 